Bill went to the beach yesterday and caught up with Channel 12. They were there doing a story on the pier being closed at least through Monday. This action apparently in reaction to Isaac. I am also hearing that shutters are going up at City Hall. Is this a little bit over-cautious given the track and strength of the storm?

Friday, August 24, 2012

Today, Friday at 12 p.m., High Noon in Lake Worth welcomes Tracy Smith Coffey, Project Coordinator for LULA Lake Worth Arts. I'll be chatting with her about the upcoming Battle of the Bands fundraiser for LULA, as well as the Urban Lofts project that is part of the NSP2 program administered by the CRA. She'll also review the entire LULA program.

Joining us will be musician Ed Berkoff, who is in charge of band selection for Battle of the Bands. Originally from Canada, Ed moved to South Florida in 1992. He has toured with many well known musicians and bands during the late 70's, all through the 80's and stopped touring 1992. Ed has been involved in television production, satellite, cable and telecommunications since 1976, as well as a professional musician for the past thirty years. During the eighties he was involved in the sales, installation of twenty-one satellite studios/uplinks in nine different countries. Today, Ed is the founder of The Big "M" Network.

Click title for link to live show, as well as an archived edition after the show is over. You can call in your questions at 646 716 9545 during the time the show is live. Or leave them as comments to this post either in advance or during the show.

The
county has recently introduced a new smartphone app, PBC DART (Palm
Beach County Disaster Assessment and Resource Tool). It’s a free
download that provides
lots of helpful info concerning emergencies (i.e. hurricanes).

PBC
DART allows residents to identify if they live in an evacuation zone,
locate the nearest shelter, and permits residents to report damage to
their home
or business in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Damage reports
will help emergency managers get an immediate Countywide “picture”
within hours of a disaster event to help prioritize response efforts.
The application is an additional outreach method to
keep the public safe and informed before, during, and after disasters.

PBC
DART is available for immediate download at no charge from Apple’s
iTunes Store and the Android Google Market. For additional
information on emergency management programs visit www.pbcgov.com/dem where you will find a section dedicated to hurricane preparedness.

Hopefully
you will never have to use this app but it’s just another tool in our
ever-changing tech world that will provide additional
assistance and information, which as many of us know is extremely
important under emergency situations such as hurricanes.

Another prize-winning, in-depth investigative journalism piece from Willie Howard (ha!), click title for link. Everything is just ducky according to Willie, while the city whistles past the graveyard of a seawall with unknown integrity, assuming that it will protect a building without a pile foundation. The article does mention the pool issue and how the west side has sunk. Could not the building be subject to the same soil and other conditions present that caused the pool problem?

As long as a study is done on the integrity, or lack thereof, of the seawall and a program put into place to address any insufficiencies, the city could issue a conditional Certificate of Occupancy so that the opening of the building and the tenant's schedule remain intact. The point is the city just has to come clean that 96% of this building is NEW CONSTRUCTION - what the Florida Building Code refers to as a "substantial improvement." It's time for the city to uphold the code that it makes everyone else abide by. And who is to say that there isn't some professional liability involved related to the licensed professionals associated with this project?

LULA Lake Worth Arts, in partnership with the Lake Worth Playhouse is proud to announce the Battle of the Bands competition to be held from 2-6pm Saturday and Sunday, September 8 & 9, 2012 at the Playhouse’s 300-seat, downtown Lake Worth location. Eight local bands will face-off, vying for the right to be called the area’s hottest band. With live gigs becoming increasingly hard to obtain, this high power musical event will definitely crank it up a notch, keeping the local music scene thriving and providing another example why downtown Lake Worth is becoming “the” Art & Cultural destination in Palm Beach County.LULA Lake Worth Arts and the Lake Worth Playhouse form a perfect partnership to showcase the local musical talent, as the non-profit Playhouse celebrates its 60th season of providing entertainment, education and opportunities for artistic expression through volunteerism and community involvement and support.The main stage will showcase these selected bands: Styrofoam, Scar of the Tropics, New & Used, Walk of Shame, We Humanz, The Republik, In Surrender and Cougars in Training (C.I.T.) to battle for first, second and third prize, after competing over the course of two days. Judges will vote to determine the winning bands based on sound, audience participation, and overall performance. The first place band will receive a $2,000.00 prize which consists of $500.00 cash and $1500.00 in local gigs. The second place band will receive $1,000.00 prize which consists of $200.00 in cash and $800.00 in local gigs and the third place band will receive $100.00 cash and $400.00 in local gigs. All eight bands will receive a professional photo shoot, a video of their performance and passes to attend the Battle of the Bands VIP Party at Brogues Down Under Sunday, September 9, 2012 at 8pm. Reserved tickets are $15 One Show/$25 Both Shows. Tickets are on sale now. Please join us for this spectacular event as we “Rock On” to support LULA Lake Worth Arts and The Lake Worth Playhouse.

Hi, Mr. Blackman. I would like to present my entry in the "Pick the Phrase That Pays, Commissioner McVoy Lecture contest."

I
found this short, I know, odd having a short lecture from the
professor, but a short lecture nonetheless about the seawall. This is
from the 8/21/12 commission meeting. Mayor Pam Triolo had just finished
her time and asked Commissioner McVoy if he had any comments. I know,
like he is going to pass on a lecture! Anyhow, a building is almost
finished, right next to the Atlantic Ocean, protected by a seawall, and
without further delay, the professor chimes in...

McVoy:
"Hmmm, well, I, I'm not in a position to, you know, I'm not a technical
person on building things, so I'm not in any position to make a
determination whether it's safe, whether the seawall is appropriate, I'm
dependent on people who do repeatable [sic] studies. Hmmm. I think
everyone in the community is, is very happy with the building. I don't
think anybody is looking to spend more money, but, ahhhh, if we need to,
if, I mean, ahh, we need to get some sort of an answer to put this to
rest and make sure this is not a red herring, that's, that's just, you
know, at this point the building is practically done, it is, I think
everyone agrees, it's going to be an asset to the community. And, ahhh,
let's move forward with that. If something structurally needs to be done
with the seawall then let's get somebody competent to tell us that.
And, ahhh, [pause] we'll deal."

We'll
deal? Well, just color me stupid. shouldn't this have been dealt with,
hmmm, like before they put the building there? McVoy wants, now, after
the building is almost complete, now he wants to make sure the seawall
isn't a "red herring" issue? Gee wiz, Captain Obvious! Is this thinking
process an indictment of higher education? "To the cave, Batman!"

I
picked this for my entry since I've been following the possible
hurricane heading in our direction. I encourage everyone to go to the
beach and check out the seawall. Think is was built in the fifties and
looks that way. Also take a look at the old tunnel in the seawall, that
wooden door with the padlock, now if that's not sustainable, I don't
know what is.

The Little Dutch Girle Little Dutch Boy

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

You might want to take a few minutes and listen to a group of planning professionals discussing how various localities are addressing climate change, rising sea levels, along with pre- and post-disaster planning. In a word, they are talking about resiliency of the built environment in the face of natural forces. Click title for link to brief introduction. The YouTube video appears below.

If you missed parts 1 through 6 of the Mulvehill Monologues or if you read or heard all of them, you will be pleased to know that the information dispensed here is in easy-to-understand English and the speakers are able to complete trains of thought. It deals with many of the same issues that were apparently discussed at the ICLEI conference attended by Commissioner Mulvehill.

Well, this article (click title for link), is an interesting take on our former state Representative, now Senator Clemens', voting record from the point of view of people in the business world. This may come as a surprise to some, but I did not vote for Jeff this time around - and I didn't vote for him in his run for Representative. I didn't support him since I label his term as Mayor in Lake Worth as "do nothing." Long festering problems festered with abandon while he was in office. He was the driving force for having our "drive by" City Manager, Bob Baldwin. He was also on the Commission at the time the city broke the development agreement with Greater Bay - the way in which this was done left the city in future legal and financial peril. We have yet to see how bad the damage will be. He was unable, or unmotivated, to stand up to those on the dais that, on paper at least, were his opposition.

The following comment left at the end of the article, most likely done in jest, reads as if it were actually was signed by the people with the first names mentioned:

Cara Jennings says:

Jeff, don't let them define you in these terms, be true to those of us who knocked on doors, spread misinformation regarding polling locations and times and threw a few " votes" your way for good measure! As long as you continue to fight for social justice, redistribution of assets etc, we will be behind you all the way! Good luck, we are right behind you ! Cara, Anabeth, Laurie, Laurel, Gael, Jo-Ann, Peter, Suzanne And Chris.

Telling too was his picture appearing with Ms Jennings in a celebratory mood on election night on the cover of last week's Lake Worth Herald. I hope the close outcome of the race serves as a wake-up call to Senator Clemens that humility still has a place in politics and that ego-gratification need not be the driving force when running for public office.

Within the next week or so, Palm Beach County's Department of EnvironmentalResources Management (ERM) will be preparing to ramp up construction on phasetwo of the Snook Island project via their contractor selected to perform the work,ATL Diversified Industries. Much like in the first phase located on the north side ofthe Intracoastal bridge adjacent to the Lake Worth Golf Course, this phase willinvolve the creation of islands and reefs suitable for seagrass and diverse marinelife. The northern portion of Bryant Park will be fenced off and utilized for stagingfill and equipment necessary for constructing the project. Trucking routes fordelivery of material shall consist of utilizing Federal Highway to access east boundLake Avenue. No trucking shall be allowing [sic] in downtown Lake Worth (Lake Avenueand Lucerne Avenue between A Street and Federal Highway). A construction roadshall be built on the north end of Bryant Park entering directly off of Lake Avenuewhere the storage house is currently located.
For more information or should you have any questions or concerns, please contactthe City's Public Services Administration office at 561-586-1720.